The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector module for connecting circuit boards. More particularly, certain embodiments of the present invention relate to an electrical connector module that is divided into sections to engage a plurality of connectors provided on one of a daughter card and a backplane board.
Various electronic systems, such as computers, comprise a wide array of components mounted on printed circuit boards, such as daughter cards, backplane boards, motherboards, and the like which are interconnected to transfer power and data signals throughout the systems. Typical connector assemblies include a backplane connector attached to a backplane board and a daughter card connector that is attached to the daughter card. The backplane and daughter card connectors are joined to electrically connect the backplane board to the daughter card. The daughter cards are often aligned othogonally to the backplane board and parallel to each other.
Conventional daughter card connectors include organizers carrying wafers with bottom and front card edges. The bottom card edges are configured to engage the daughter card and the front card edges are configured to engage the backplane connector, in order to carry electrical signals between the daughter card and the backplane board.
In order to process a large number of electrical signals at a high speed while taking up minimal space within the computer, two adjacent daughter cards connected to the backplane board are electrically connected to each other as well. Each daughter card has power and signal interconnects mounted thereon. The power and signal interconnects of adjacent daughter cards are connected to each other by electrical bus jumpers. The daughter cards are also connected to each other by support structures. By electrically connecting adjacent daughter cards, the connected daughter cards are able to process more electrical signals from the backplane board at a faster rate.
However, conventional daughter card connector arrangements suffer from several drawbacks. First, conventional connectors use two separate daughter card connectors with two separate and interconnected daughter cards, thereby taking up considerable space within the computer and requiring numerous interconnecting parts. It is difficult and expensive to assemble and connect so many interconnecting parts between the daughter cards and between each daughter card and daughter card connector. For example, each daughter card must be exactly aligned with the other daughter card in order to then connect the daughter cards. Additionally, the interconnecting parts have different connection tolerances, which make it difficult to assemble daughter cards and connectors in precise alignment. Further, the use of multiple interconnected electrical parts impedes the efficient transfer of electrical signals. Electrical signals often travel from the backplane board through a first daughter card connector to a first daughter card, through the interconnects and bus jumpers to the next daughter card and then back through a second daughter card connector to the backplane board. Thus, the use of so many connecting parts subjects the electrical signals to varying geometries and impedances which may reduce the speed of signal processing and may cause signal reflection.
A need exists for an improved electrical connector for connecting daughter cards to a backplane board.
Certain embodiments of the present invention include an electrical connector having a housing with first and second sides configured to be joined to first and second circuit boards, respectively. The electrical connector also includes a wafer held in the housing. The wafer carries electrical traces that extend between first and second card edges. The first card edge has upper and lower sections that are configured to be received in separate upper and lower connectors mounted on the first circuit board.
Certain embodiments of the present invention include an electrical connector configured to mate with at least two separate connectors mounted on a common circuit board. The electrical connector includes a housing having a first side configured to be mounted to the circuit board. The electrical connector also includes a wafer held in the housing. The wafer has a first card edge located proximate the first side of the housing. The electrical connector further includes a shroud mounted to the housing. The shroud has at least one mating interface configured to receive at least two separate and distinct connectors that are mounted on the circuit board.